Activists rallied in Campbell River and across the country on Wednesday at the offices of MPs to demand urgent action on climate change.
They were delivering copies of a report by the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warning that drastic reductions in CO2 emissions are needed before 2030 to avoid catastrophe, including droughts, threats to food security and more extreme weather events.
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“Some people say that report is quite conservative,” said Susan Westren, a member of the Council of Canadians, which organized the rallies with 350.org. “If we don’t start acting now, our climate – our planet is going to be in chaos.”
Across the country, upwards of 1,000 activists from the two social action organizations delivered copies of the IPCC’s report to the offices of more than 250 MPs, according to a campaign website.
Staff for MP Rachel Blaney and MLA Claire Trevena – who share an office in downtown Campbell River – accepted the report from protesters.
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Lucas Schuller, Blaney’s constituency assistant, said the federal NDP wants faster climate action from the Liberal government.
“[Blaney] will continue to push for that in Ottawa and raise these issues in the house, and it’s important that Canadians raise them in front of offices across the country as well,” said Schuller.
Protesters called on governments to invest in green energy and scrap fossil fuel projects like the Coastal GasLink pipeline, which is slated to transport natural gas from northeastern B.C. to a planned facility in Kitimat.
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Trevena – minister of transportation and infrastructure for NDP Premier John Horgan, whose government has supported the LNG pipeline – wasn’t immediately available for comment on Wednesday afternoon.
Meanwhile, protester like Riki Vogt said that governments are sleeping while climate scientists sound the alarm.
Her message to politicians: “Don’t hit the snooze button anymore.”
@davidgordonkoch
david.koch@campbellrivermirror.com
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